A comparative study of C4 and C5 alcohol treated diesel-biodiesel blends in terms of diesel engine performance and exhaust emission

Use of pure alcohols or alcohols blended with petroleum-based fossil fuel or biodiesel blends as engine fuel is an attractive alternative solution for internal combustion engines. This study conducted an experiments in a single cylinder, four-stroke, water-cooled, direct-injection diesel engine. Engine performance and emission characteristics of diesel-Alexandrian laurel biodiesel blends with 15 and 20 vol.% of n-butanol (C-4) and pentanol (C-5) as blending components were investigated and compared under different speed conditions. Results show that brake power and brake specific fuel consumption of the engine using C-4 and C-5 alcohols mixed with biodiesel blends were improved greatly than that using biodiesel. The emissions of hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide were extremely reduced with increasing nitric oxide and carbon dioxide, but carbon dioxide decreased at maximum speed. Finally, it can be conclude that, C5 alcohol is preferred than C-4 alcohol because of its elevated performance and emission. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.